[Steve Crook jr]

No, sorry. I found myself a font with “holes” in it, converted to outlines (CTRL+SHIFT+O, Type > Create Outlines) and the Object > Compound Path > Release was immediately available.

To cover the obvious, you have selected one or more of the objects, correct? After releasing one compound path, I deselected everything then selected everything again and could still release the others.

Try starting a new document, type the text again and going from there. Once you have the compound paths released, copy them into your original document.

Hope it works. 🙂

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

What you are looking to do is simple, but the why is complicated. 🙂

Solution:
When you converted your text to outlines, Illustrator made a group of compound paths – you need to break up those compound paths so that you can work on their component parts.
Simple way (for PC, similar for MAC but different keys): select the compound path and SHIFT+CTRL+ALT+8
Menus: Object > Compound Path > Release

There you go, all the component paths are yours to select and work with. NOTE: For what you want to do, do not make them a compound path again – it will negate your work and make parts transparent again.

Why:
There are two methods that have historically been used to use paths to make transparent parts of other paths, ie. holes and cut-outs.
The older method (I think) was assigning a “direction” to a path, clockwise or counter-clockwise, with paths going opposite directions cutting holes in each other.
The newer method is counting. For example if you make a circle, it is path 1. Then make a smaller circle inside path 1, it is path 2. If you make them compound, path 2 will cut out a section of path 1. Simple. If you were to make a third circle smaller than the second (path 3) and combine all three into a compound path (Object > Compound Path > Make; Pathfinder : Subtract front or back; etc.) you would get something like the Target logo -> Path 1 would be filled to the edge of path 2, path 2 would be unfilled to the edge of path 3, and path 3 would again be filled. So, odd numbered sections are filled, even are not.

Hope both the practical and theoretical help!

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

There is indeed an easy way to convert your rounded corners (“Stylize > Round Corners…”) to an editable path.

Once you are happy with the effect, go to “Object > Expand Appearance”. Done.

If you are using the new rounded corners by dragging the little circle inside the corner of Illustrator CC versions, you go to “Object > Expand…” select all the check boxes and click OK, then ungroup the result and delete the objects you do not want.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

While embroidery programs like Tajima DG/ML have a tracing feature, they do not produce optimal results automatically – a skilled user of the program still needs to adjust the results. (I am not skilled, I am learning…)

Advice: search “digitize logo embroidery” and evaluate the services offered there. You may look at the “do it yourself for free videos”, but keep in mind the resulting artwork will likely not be the quality you are looking for.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

One solution that may work depending on your installation is a ‘gobo’.

This will take a bit of experimentation, but basically get a piece of medium weight cardboard (any kind, it doesn’t need to be corrugated) and cut the shape you want out of it. Mount it an inch or two in front of the projector (I don’t recommend taping it directly to the projector as that may cause heat issues). Adjust and recut as necessary to get the effect you want.

Good luck!

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

By reading my ‘signature’, you will know that I am no expert, but I experimented a bit and this is what I found.

It looks like you used gradient meshes for the corners, and that is the way to go, but as far as I can tell, you need to ‘reduce’ the objects BEFORE you make the gradient mesh. You will have to redo a bit of work to ‘clean this up’ and it might not be worth it if all you want to do is make it look better on the screen.

So, here is what I would do:

1) Hide (delete later after these steps if all goes well) the three outline planes (I assume they are compound paths).

2) Copy & scale the master plane (the only one left – it has the blue fill, right?).

3) Remove the inner path – a) direct select and delete the points; -or- b) {if it is a compound path like I think} {windows} CTRL+ATL+SHIFT+8 to convert back to individual paths and delete the inner one; -or- c) use the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) and click each point on the inner path.

4) Adjust the path on the two inward pointing angles on the wing tips – do the following for each wing:
** I will identify each anchor of your plane from tip to crease at the rear from 1 – 6 (either clockwise or counter-clockwise); the two points I have you add DO NOT get added into the count.
a) Use the Add Anchor Point Tool (+) to add an anchor to the line from Anchor 2 to Anchor 3 at about the 1/3 spot (closer to 2)
b) Do the same on the line from Anchor 3 to 4 (closer to 4)
c) Use the Delete Anchor Point Tool (-) on Anchor 3 to remove most of the point jutting into the interior of the plane.
d) Do the same to the other wing.
** These steps are needed for the “Crop”s in Steps 7 & 8.

5) Make two copies of the modified path and place all three copies correctly over the master plane.

6) Ensure your Pathfinder toolbox is open (Window > Pathfinder).

7) Select TWO (not all three) of your modified paths and click “Crop” in the pathfinder. Ungroup the results and delete the undesired piece(s) remaining.

8) Select the remaining piece from the previous step and the remaining modified path and “Crop” them, again ungrouping the results and deleting any undesired artwork.

9) What is remaining should be the simplified piece of artwork you are looking for. Convert to a Gradient Mesh and recolor the points as necessary.

Again, this much work might not be worth the effort. I hope my instructions help you learn as much as I have from putting them together.

Does anyone have a better way? I would love to hear it.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

If you made the extrusion, then you at least have outlines, correct?

If so, render/save a png/jpg of the letters in black and white, without the extrusion, and search for it with What The Font ( if I can post a link, here it is: https://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/ ).

Hope that helps.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

Hm. My first thought would be a CMYK/RGB issue, but you say you have checked that.

Without a sample file, all I can ask is if you can reproduce the error with all new files? Create a new file, draw a new object out two, and paste them into another new document. Does the error persist?

Good luck!

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

This looks like a normal distressing technique with a quirk. Here is how I would do it.

1) create and adjust text to appear as final, copy, paste in place, hide one and outline the other (the non-outlined one is to go back to if you mess up), hide the outline for now
2) import image of person, trace image as silhouette, adjust where you want it in the lettering, copy, paste in place, hide one
3) Un hide the lettering outlines
4) using pathfinder (Window > Pathfinder) and with the lettering and image outlines selected, click subtract front

That should give you the effect you are after.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂

[Steve Crook jr]

[Jonathan Ziegler] “I seems odd that the printers would need the package as an AI file, but the cutfiles make sense.”

Read my footer: I’m no expert. But the vinyl vendors that I work with use FlexiSign (one version or another) and can import an AI file, mark the proper paths as cut lines, then “Rip and Print” and/or “Cut/Plot” with no additional effort other than moving the vinyl from one machine to another (if they don’t have an integrated printer/cutter) and machine specific settings.

The vinyl printer uses all of the information except for the cut line(s) to print the graphic; the cutter uses only the cut line(s) to cut out the vinyl for use.

Perhaps the OP’s vendor uses a similar program.

Steve Crook, Jr.
http://www.stevecrookjr.me

I am a simple creative professional that can get my Adobe suite and a few other creative tools to do what I want. Barely. 🙂